With no statewide mask mandate, Harris urges county mayors to implement their own Katherine Burgess, Memphis Commercial Appeal Shelby County Health Department explains how to properly wear, remove a face mask Replay Video UP NEXT A day after Tennessee Gov. Bill Lee refused to mandate masks while Tennessee deals with one of the worst COVID-19 outbreaks in the nation, Shelby County Mayor Lee Harris wrote a letter to the mayors of every county in West Tennessee. "It would have likely helped us a great deal to see more interventions at the state level and, like many of you, I have repeatedly encouraged state officials to implement a state-wide mask mandate," Harris wrote. "However, in the absence of state action, I believe we have got to step up together as a region. ... I am writing now to ask that each of you who do not currently have a mask mandate to please implement one."